Construction Of The Pinnacle To Go Ahead

Building work on the Pinnacle, aka the Helter-Skelter tower, is to resume after the developer announced that they were close to securing the required funds, reports Skyscraper News.

Late last year, we reported that the £1 billion project was at risk because of its precarious funding quandary. Arab Investments, the developer, had predicated the construction on pre-let targets that it was struggling to meet. Work ground to a halt, the cranes disappeared, and the tower's ascent was halted, with the building's core stopped at the sixth floor and peeping over the Bishopsgate hoardings like a huge, timid, square-headed meerkat (use your imagination).

This week, Arab Investments announced that they have secured the near half-billion pound shortfall, and expect to sign on all the dotted lines before the month's end, meaning that construction work can resume.

When completed (still pencilled in for 2013), the building will reach 288m, making it the tallest in the Square Mile and second only to the Shard in stature. It'll join a number of other new skyscrapers in the City, including the Leadenhall Tower, or Cheesegrater, and the Walkie-Talkie, which are both going ahead after being briefly postponed during the worst of the financial crisis.